News

Students at universities in London are facing a battle to keep the city's student union after senior academics decided it was to close next year. The University of London Union (or ULU) represents the students from all of the 18 different institutions that make up the University of London, including LSE and UCL. However, facing tougher and tougher cuts, the university's collegiate council decided that from 2014 the individual colleges would cease paying the current £750,000 a year each to ULU.

Social & Political Hub

In its current form, ULU is the largest association of its kind in Europe and is central to the social and political life of 120,000 students in the Bloomsbury area and throughout London. The new plan will maintain the social facilities "including the swimming pool, gym, shops, cafes, bars, venues and the administrative support for intercollegiate sporting events".

However, it is the political side of the union that many fear losing. ULU has traditionally been the hub for student politics and activism, uniting all students across London in events such as the fees protests over the last few years. In the new plans, there will be no elected officers and therefore no student representation.

This week's top tip: Constantly update your CV as you learn new skills and gain more experience to add to it. It is much easier to describe something you've just done than something you did months ago.

In one of the more bizarre stories of the year, student organisers of a black-tie ball at Oxford University have been banned from displaying a living shark as entertainment. The students at Somerville College had planned to make the animal the centre piece of their end of year party only to be told by the principal last week that it would not be allowed.

It all started in January when posters started appearing around the college advertising the May 4th ball. At £110 per ticket, it was billed as "one night of decadence, debauchery and indulgence". However, the really intriguing part came from the poster below.

A new survey by Times Higher Education has asked more than 12,000 undergraduate students how happy they are at their university. The results reveal a top 10 UK universities that offer their students the best experience in terms of lectures, staff, social life and accommodation.

The University of East Anglia (UEA- pictured above) came out in the coveted top spot, ahead of traditionally more prestigious universities like Oxford and Cambridge. UEA's vice-chancellor Prof Nigel Norris was not surprised by the results, saying:

"Our commitment to providing a gold-plated student experience is long-standing and ingrained. This latest endorsement has been made possible only by the hard work and creativity of our academics, support staff and, of course, the students themselves who never cease to inspire us."

This week's top tip: Research and follow relevant people and companies on Twitter who tweet new jobs as soon as they are announced. It's a great way to have an always updating list of jobs on the market.